We started this Christmas Day away from home with a rare trip to church. The main church here is a copy of the Notre Dame Cathedral but in red brick. Rather than the usual Christmas carols today was devoted to curing the sick and infirm, so we wandered amongst the damaged and bewildered, fitting in nicely.
This was followed by a sombre visit to the War Remnants Museum. This is dedicated to the victims of local wars, with graphic reminders of the effects of napalm and agent orange, and an unpleasant tank full of aborted foetuses.
For some reason the ravages of war didn’t really grasp me until we got to the exhibition of photos of fallen journalists, and the last words they’d written before being killed. Another effective piece was a 4 photo panel magazine article, the first showing a grinning door gunner filling his M-60 with ammo, the second showing him firing wildly at the ground, the third depicting him injured, but upright whilst one of his pilots lay dead at his feet and the fourth back at base with his head in his hands.
Walked over to the oddly named Bedtime Market for a snack lunch before starting a 3 hour passage of sightseeing terror on a cyclo through the Saigon traffic. Heading through red lights, into oncoming traffic and getting squashed between two buses all seemed fine to the driver as he was the one at the back, whilst we were sat 3ft in front, ready to bear the brunt of any accidents.
My camera has finally given up the ghost after a 3 years of heavy use so decided to treat myself to an upgrade for Christmas, but they only stock older models here, albeit cheaply. One store offered me an illegally sourced new model but wanted double the normal price, to cover the fine they would incur.
For Christmas Dinner we’d booked a buffet at the Saigon Sheraton, which was amazing. There were perfectly prepared foods from all over the world and unlimited champagne and wines. 4 hours later and grateful for the expandable travel trousers we waddled up to the 23rd floor for drinks overlooking the entire city.
We did try to get into a nightclub but I was stopped at the door for some reason. Unfortunately the only bouncer was only about 5’2″, so attempted ineffectually to manhandle me out the door whilst we discussed where to go instead.
